


Day 19 - Games

by Shardinian



Series: Shardinian (Mishka)'s OBEYMEmber! [20]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27627125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shardinian/pseuds/Shardinian
Series: Shardinian (Mishka)'s OBEYMEmber! [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993873
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	Day 19 - Games

“Huh? What the… what the hell?” Blinking away the last remnants of an unnatural sleep, Satan frowned and tugged at the handcuffs that were keeping his wrists locked tightly behind his back. “Oh, fantastic. I wonder what I did to piss him off this time,” he muttered, as he sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room. “And where the hell am I?”

It was a study, richly furnished with black iron sconces, a dark mahogany writing desk that spanned nearly one entire wall, and several large chairs upholstered in burgundy leather. Dusty portraits of nameless demon bureaucrats, all long dead, hung on every wall.

He didn't recognize any of it.

“Hey! What's goin' on?!” Still yawning, Mammon stepped over a still-sleeping Levi and joined his brother. “Where are we? And what's the deal with these,” he frowned, as he twisted around to try and get a good look at his own steel restraints. “I didn't even do anything! For real, this time! Why am I always the one gettin’ stuck in these damn things, anyway?”

“Because you're a scumbag,” Asmo muttered, apparently in his sleep. He rolled over in his chair, snuggled into the leather, and started snoring.

And drooling.

“Calm down,” Satan sighed. “We're all wearing them, from the looks of it.”

“It still sucks,” he grumbled. “So where the heck are we?”

“Somewhere in Lord Diavolo's castle, I'm guessing, though I've no idea why. Do you remember how you got here?”

“No idea. Last thing I remember was goin' to bed.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“What's up with all the weird decorations?” Mammon nodded towards a cheaply-made, nondescript wall clock hanging above the desk, one that looked more like it belonged in an elementary school than a castle. “Like, that piece of crap don't fit the room at all. It ain't even ticking.”

“Huh. You're right. It isn't.” Now that he was really paying attention, there were at least a half-dozen other things that seemed suspiciously out of place, too.

A crayon drawing of a rainbow, exquisitely framed and hung side-by-side with the portraits.

An alarm clock on the desk, that wasn't plugged in.

Six brightly coloured toy blocks, scattered across the floor.

A large oval mirror with geometric patterns sketched across its surface.

“The door's locked,” Belphie sighed.

Mammon jumped a respectable foot and a half. “GYAH! Don't sneak up on people like that!”

Satan frowned. “What's that on the desk? A note?”

Belphie leaned over and read it aloud:

_“Satan,_

_Lord Diavolo has, of late, become hopelessly obsessed with the idiotic human-world trend of Escape Rooms, and has instructed me to waste my time constructing one for him._

_I will present him with nothing imperfect, so the six of you have volunteered to test it for me._

_Find the way out in an hour, or you will all be severely punished._

_Lucifer.”_

The second he finished reading, the digital alarm clock came on, flashed 00:00 for a few seconds, then started counting down.

60:00

59:59

59:58

“Well, that's not good,” Satan muttered.

Beel cocked his head. “Why is it addressed to Satan?”

“GYAHHH!! WHY'S EVERYONE SNEAKIN' UP ON ME! NOT COOL, BEEL!”

Belphie shrugged. “Because without Lucifer here, Satan's the boss.”

“No way! I'm the second oldest, if anyone's gonna be in charge, it's me!”

Everyone ignored him.

Satan rolled his eyes. “So if _he_ designed a crappy game, _we_ get punished for it? Typical,” he scowled. “But it doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Mammon, wake up Levi and Asmo. You two, see if you can find a key for these hand-"

“Found it.”

Satan blinked. “Wow, Beel. That was fast.”

“Too fast,” Belphie frowned. “If we make this dumb game look too easy, Lucifer's gonna be pissed.”

“I was looking for snacks,” Beel sighed, as he nudged Satan around so they were standing back-to-back, and set about setting them both free. “I didn't find any,” he added, with a disheartened sigh thrown in for good measure.

“Oh man, Lucifer locked us up with Beel, and didn't feed him first?” Levi shook his hair out of his eyes and surreptitiously positioned Mammon between Beel and himself. “We'd better get out of here, like waaaaay fast.”

“That's the plan,” Satan muttered, while he massaged the bruises out of his wrists. “Alright guys, line up so I let you all go.”

He had five pairs of handcuffs dangling from his free hand when Asmo leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

“Hrrmmm. You're probably right. Mammon, yours are on upside-down. Come over here where I can see a little better.”

“’Course he'd do mine all screwy,” Mammon grumbled, as he followed his brother towards the door. “Some days I swear he – HEY! What the hell, Satan! You're supposta be lettin' me go, not lockin' me to the damn doorknob!”

“This will be easier if you're not helping, Mammon,” Asmo sighed. “Now be a good boy and stay out of the way while the grown-ups work. If you can behave yourself for the whole hour, I'll give you a cookie."

Beel lit up like a Christmas tree.

“He doesn't have any cookies, Beel,” Belphie yawned. “He's just being an ass.”

55:45

55:44

55:43

“Alright everyone; I've read about these Escape Rooms before. There will be clues and puzzles scattered around the room, so everyone split up and start exploring. Levi, try to figure out what these toy blocks are for. Asmo,” he sighed, “since I know you'll end up there anyway, figure out the mirror. Belphie, check out that clock on the wall. Maybe we need to get it ticking or something. Beel, you're with me. Let's see if we can find any more clues lying around.”

“Or cookies.”

Satan sighed. “…Or cookies.”

Levi grinned and clapped his hands together. “AAAAND BREAK!”

46:08

46:07

46:06

“Oooh look at you! Aren't you just the… oh, no! Is that… is that a wrinkle?! NOOOoooo…. Oh! It's just one of those ugly patterns on the mirror! I wonder if it rubs off…”

“ASMO! So help me, if you rub any clues off that mirror I will **break your goddamned face.** KEEP LOOKING.”

39:32

39:31

39:30

“Oh, man. I suck so bad at this. Even if there _is_ something we need to know about these blocks, I'll never find it. I shouldn't even be helping; I should be locked up with Mammon in The Useless Corner.”

“Hey, who you callin' useless?! When I get outta here, I'm gonna shove every last one of those blocks right up your

35:18

35:17

35:16

“This is stupid. Lucifer’s such an asshole.”

“Careful. He's probably watching us right now.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Just in case he is:

I _SAID,_ YOU'RE SUCH AN _ASSHOLE, **ASSHOLE.”**_

31:32

31:31

31:30

“Hey, I found something.”

Everyone dropped what they were doing and huddled around Beel, who'd been carefully taking all the portraits down, one by one. “It's a triangle.”

“It's a wall safe,” Levi corrected. “Looks like the combination wheels on a briefcase. So what's the combination?”

Satan looked around. “Has anyone found any numbers written anywhere?”

Unanimous ‘no’s, all around.

“Hrrmm. Maybe this part comes later. There's probably an order we have to do everything in.”

Beel frowned. “But what about the little triangle? There, beside the number wheels.”

“Ok… in that case, has anyone found any triangles?”

Asmo’s hand shot up. “Oh! I have! One of the hideous designs on my mirror is a bunch of triangles. See? Right there, in the corner!”

Levi crouched down to examine the geometric art. “1, 2, 3… there's sixteen of them. Beel, try “016”.

“There's a lot more than sixteen,” Belphie frowned. “You're just counting the little ones. All the little ones make up one big triangle… and those four there make up another one… 2… 3… 4… You know what? Just move. Let me see.”

“I see 18.”

“24.”

“OOH! Is it 69?!”

“Shut up, Asmo.”

“167.”

“Can you all stop breathing on my neck?!” Belphie snapped. “You're interrupting my… wait, 167?! Beel, what the hell are you even looking at?”

“…I think I might've counted some twice.”

“Ok, well, you're all wrong. It's twenty-seven. Enter “027”.”

“Ok.”

_*click click*_

“Hey, look! We did it!”

“Yay us!”

“What's inside?!”

Satan pulled out the meagre contents and chuckled. “Well, that's one problem down. Beel, this must be for you.” He handed his overjoyed brother a dripping, overloaded sandwich.

“Oh. There's a note, too:

_Beel_

_Don't murder anyone._

_That's my job._

_Lucifer._ ”

“Thank you, Lucifer,” Beel beamed, around a crumbling mouthful of sandwich. “I like this game.”

“Looks like Levi's up next.” Satan wiped the mayonnaise off a blue toy block, and tossed it to Levi. “This goes with the rest of them, right?”

“Ummm… yeah, probably? I mean, they look like the same set, but… but how am I supposed to know for sure? They don't have any markings or barcodes or anything, and I'm not smart enough to…”

“Levi, you're smart. Shut up already.”

“Belphie's right,” cooed Asmo. “You love toys, and collections, and you’re the undisputed master of puzzle games. You've got this!”

Equal parts flattered and uncomfortable, Levi forced a nod. “I… well, ok! Yeah! I was kinda thinking that they had something to do with the picture of the rainbow over there. I already tried matching up all the colors, but I was missing blue.”

“And now you have it.”

“Right! So all we have to do is… ummm… maybe… put them in order, or something?”

Without waiting for an answer, he plopped down cross-legged on the floor, and started arranging.

Beel frowned. “But you have an extra block.”

“Huh?”

“The rainbow in the picture only has six colors in it,” Belphie confirmed, after taking a closer look. “Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. Where does that pink one go?”

Levi frowned. “I… I have no idea. Oh, man, I knew I must've gotten it wrong. Does anyone want to take over?”

“You're doing just fine,” Satan signed. “I'm sure you're right about the rainbow; it's the only thing that makes sense. The extra block must be the puzzle we're supposed to figure out. So pink would technically come before purple, right? Try putting it at the beginning.”

Levi nodded, and put the extra block in its place.

Everyone looked around.

25:35

25:34

25:33

“…did it work?”

“I didn't see anything.”

“I'm hungry.”

“Maybe they don't work on the floor. Anyone see any special places they might fit?

“Lucifer, you suck.”

“Pink could come after red, too,” Asmo observed. “Try putting it at the end.”

25:19

25:18

25:17

“…still nothing.”

Thoroughly discouraged, and feeling the weight of four sets of eyes judging his ineptitude from above, Levi tried everything he could think of. He stuck the pink block in between the others, in each possible spot. He set it on top of purple. Then on top of red. He turned the straight line of blocks into a circle, so it could fit where it really belonged – between purple and red.

Now everyone else was getting discouraged, too. Asmo slipped back to the mirror so he could check his makeup. Beel was already rooting through the empty safe, searching for hidden panels or a false back or anything that might be hiding another sandwich.

Belphie and Satan were the only two still puzzling over the riddle, and were murmuring between themselves.

“Magenta isn't even a real color,” Satan was musing aloud. “Maybe it doesn't belong at all.”

“That's not magenta, though. That's pink.”

“Can you tell the difference?”

“…Maybe.”

20:13

20:12

20:11

Chewing his nails and fretting terribly, Levi hunched down and glanced around the room, trying desperately to notice whatever he'd missed so he could redeem himself. Nothing else in the room was brightly colored. There were no extra blocks hiding under the desk, or any of the chairs.

There was just Mammon, cursing under his breath while trying to push up his sagging glasses with his shoulder, and Asmo, checking his manicure in the mirror…

“Magenta should actually be green,” Satan frowned.

“What the hell does that even mean? Pink is pink.”

“No, technically; its wavelength is…”

“GUYS! GUYS I FIGURED IT OUT!” Practically bursting with pride, Levi scooped up all the blocks to start again. “It's not a rainbow at all! It's Mammon's glasses, and Asmo's nails… Guys, it's **us**! Quick, what's everyone's favorite colour?!”

“OOH! Definitely pink!”

“Green. Toxic, nuclear fallout green.”

“Uhh, I don't think you need to be THAT specific.”

“I dunno. Purple, I guess.”

“Cherry.”

“…that's a flavour.”

“Oh. Then red.”

“Guess that mean's Lucifer's blue,” Levi said to himself, as he set all the blocks side by side.

Blue, yellow, orange, pink-

The blocks flared to life, each engulfed its own tiny fire, and the whole collection vanished in a puff of silvery twinkles.

_*click click*_

“Alright!”

“Nicely done!”

“Great job, Levi! We knew you could do it!”

Satan was the only one not celebrating. “Where’d that noise come from? Did anybody catch it?”

“…no.”

“Oh. …No. I wasn't paying attention.”

“What noise?”

“It came from the desk, ya friggen morons.”

“Thanks, Mammon! See, you're helping!”

“Piss off, Asmo. I ain't gonna forget that lockin' me up was _your_ idea.”

Satan hurried to the desk, and checked every drawer. They'd all been locked, when he'd checked fifteen minutes ago, but the lowest one opened easily, now.

14:56

14:55

14:54

“What's inside?!”

“Is there another sandwich?”

“Zzzzzz…”

“Uhh… is Belphie asleep?”

“It's a ledger,” Satan frowned. He quickly scanned the pages, then shook his head. “Only one page has writing on it, and it’s all just numbers. There has to be a pattern here, though… maybe… maybe a formula…” He sat himself at the desk, and buried his nose, and his attention, in the mystery numbers.

The numbers weren't linear. They weren't exponential. They weren't even the definition of a line that might lead them to the next clue. A more complicated relationship, maybe…

09:01

09:00

08:59

“Oooooooh we're running out of time,” Levi moaned. “Come on, Satan! I don't wanna be punished!”

“Neither do I! Do you know how long it takes for bullwhip welts to disappear?! I'll be a monster!”

“Both of you, shut up,” Satan snapped, without taking his eyes off the cryptic numbers. “You're not helping. Go wake Belphie up. I need him.”

“For what,” Belphie yawned. “I already solved the triangle thing. Leave me alone.”

Professionally ignoring his complaints, Satan flipped the ledger around and pointed. “There’s a formula here. I know there is. And if you don't want to spend the rest of your night bathing in battery acid, you’ll help me find it.”

“Fine. Whatever. What are the numbers?”

“666…” (Belphie rolled his eyes), “720.61… 779.70… and 843.64.”

“912.82."

The disinterested answer had come from the other end of the room.

Everyone looked at Mammon, but he was too busy trying to pry a doorknob loose to notice.

Satan quirked an eyebrow. “Umm… Mammon? What was that?”

“912.82,” he repeated absently, as if he was only half (at best) paying attention. “It's the next number. It's compounding interest, at eight percent…” he frowned, thought for a second, then shook his head, “…sorry. Eight point two percent.”

Belphie and Beel looked at each other, dumbfounded. Asmo just stared in disbelief.

05:13

05:12

05:11

Satan frowned, scribbled down a few long-hand calculations, then gaped like a landed trout. “…He's right.”

“’Course I'm right! I might not be good at magic or puzzles or whatever, but I know money when I hear it, ok! Now let me go!”

“912.82,” Satan mused aloud, “or 8.20%.” He scribbled both numbers down, then stared at them.

Neither seemed especially helpful.

“Anyone..?”

Nothing but blank, useless stares.

03:56

03:55

03:54

“Come on, guys! Think!”

“Is it another combination?”

“To what, though?”

“Maybe we haven't found it yet! Everyone, start looking! Fast!”

Beel pulled up the carpet. Belphie upturned every chair, then tore the upholstery off. Asmo ripped every last portrait out of its frame. Levi crawled under the desk to look for anything stashed out of sight.

00:57

00:56

00:55

Growing increasingly anxious with each passing second, Satan tuned out the chaos around him, and stared at the numbers.

There were no other clues.

No other hints.

No more puzzles.

The answer **had** to be here.

He wrote and rewrote them, again and again, changing up the details each time.

8.2%

0.082

8.20%

8.20

The answer all but jumped off the page and punched him in the face. “Belphie! Quick! That clock on the wall – set it to 8:20!!!!”

00:04

00:03

00:02

Belphie leapt at the clock, ripped it off the wall and started whirling its hands around.

_*click click*_

With an ominous creak, the door slowly swung open (taking a cursing, handcuffed demon right along with it).

Standing in the doorway, still watching the time on his DDD, Lucifer glanced up. “So you solved them all,” he sighed, sounding mildly disappointed. “What a shame. I will have to ramp up the difficulty, if it is to please Lord Diavolo. Thank you, everyone, for your…” he frowned at the ransacked study, “…enthusiastic participation.”

“Blow me,” Belphie muttered.

“Yeah, great, good for us,” Satan grumbled. “Can we go now?”

“Not quite yet.” Lucifer stepped up to the desk, picked up the alarm clock, and checked it against his DDD.

Levi frowned. “Why not? We figured everything out!”

With a ghost of a smile, Lucifer held up the alarm clock. It wasn't counting down anymore; the timer had stopped the second the door had opened.

-00:02.

Two seconds too late.

“All of you, to my room. **Now.** ” Lucifer glanced at Satan, and smirked. “And bring the handcuffs. You're all going to need them.”


End file.
